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• Shanaka stars to lead Kandy Falcons to six-wicket win over Dambulla Sixers to kick off 2024 Lanka Premier League

  Andre Fletcher’s Kandy Falcons opened the 2024 Lanka Premier League season with a six-wicket win over the Dambulla Sixers at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Monday.

  The Sixers, after being put in to bat by the Falcons, first posted a respectable 179-4 from their 20 overs.

  New Zealand’s Mark Chapman led the way with an excellent unbeaten 91* off 61 balls including eight fours and four sixes while Chamindu Wickramsinghe provided excellent support with 62* off 42 balls including four fours and three sixes.

  Dasun Shanaka took 3-20 from his four overs for the Falcons.

  Then, despite a first-ball duck from Fletcher at the top of the innings, the Falcons successfully reached 183-4 off just 17.2 overs.

  Fletcher’s opening partner Dinesh Chandimal led the way with a 40-ball 65 including six fours and three sixes while Shanaka and Angelo Matthews provided the finishing touches with 46* off 15 balls and 37* off 20 balls, respectively.

  Full Scores:

  Dambulla Sixers 179-4 off 20 overs (Mark Chapman 91*, Chamindu Wickramsinghe 62*, Dasun Shanaka 3-20)

  Kandy Falcons 183-4 off 17.2 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 65, Dasun Shanaka 46*, Angelo Matthews 37*)

  The league continues on Tuesday with the Jaffna Kings taking on the Galle Marvels at 4:30 AM before the Colombo Strikers take on the Kandy Falcons at 9:00 AM (Jamaica Time).

  Both games will be shown live on Sportsmax.

• Euro 2024 social round-up: Belgium fans get up for France clash as Bellingham rubbishes celebration speculation

  England progressed to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals by completing a late comeback against Slovakia on Sunday.

  Jude Bellingham scored the Three Lions' equaliser in a 2-1 extra-time victory in Gelsenkirchen, dispatching a stunning overhead kick deep into stoppage time.

  There was plenty of reaction on social media that continued into Monday, while other teams looked forward to their last-16 ties.

  Here, we round up the best posts from around the tournament.

  Bellingham rubbishes celebration speculation

  UEFA has confirmed it will investigate Bellingham's celebration, in which he appeared to make a rude gesture in the direction of the Slovakia fans.

  Bellingham, however, insists it was an "inside joke".

  He also apologised for any offence caused.

  "An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight," he wrote on X.

  Copycats?

  They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and perhaps that is how the Dutch fans will look at their lowlands neighbours, the Belgians.

  Ahead of Belgium's clash with France, the Red Devils' X account shared a video of a fanpark, where their supporters were enjoying a brilliant warm-up.

  It looked like everyone was having plenty of fun, and perhaps they'll be giving the Netherlands' fans - who have been the stars of the show in Germany so far - a run for their money.

  Pogback

  Paul Pogba is absent from Euro 2024, due to the ban he received for alleged doping.

  While Pogba fights that charge, he is of course not able to be involved.

  However, the 2018 World Cup winner was on hand in Dusseldorf to gee up France's supporters ahead of the clash with Belgium.

  Bellingham's brilliance

  While there was some controversy over his celebration, Bellingham's last-gasp equaliser for England really is worth re-living over and over again.

  And that's what the official UEFA Euro 2024 X account did, sharing a slow-motion clip of that exquisite overhead kick.

  Anyone know the score?

  Just before Bellingham's moment of genius, Kylian Mbappe was wrapping up his pre-match press conference.

  And the France star could not help but ask what the score was in the England match.

  Much to his surprise, he was informed Slovakia were winning. Of course, that did not last.

  Lineker defends Jude

  Gary Lineker has seemingly not been the most popular figure in the England camp following his critical comments so far this tournament.

  But the BBC Sport pundit was delighted that Bellingham got Gareth Southgate's team out of trouble.

  He was less pleased, though, to hear UEFA were investigating his post-match celebration.

  The Oranje arrive

  The Netherlands take on Romania on Tuesday, and Ronald Koeman's team arrived in Munich on Monday.

  Virgil van Dijk took the Oranje out for a warm-up. Will the Dutch get over the line and tee up a meeting with either Austria or Turkiye?

• T20 World Cup data dive: Afghanistan duo top the charts, Pooran the big hitter as India and Kohli set final record

  The T20 World Cup came to a thrilling conclusion over the weekend, with India clinching their second title by beating South Africa.

  Rohit Sharma's side claimed a seven-run win over the Proteas in Barbados on Saturday.

  Virat Kohli turned on the style at just the right time, while Jasprit Bumrah starred with the ball.

  But what about the standout statistics when looking back at the tournament as a whole? 

  Afghanistan duo top the charts

  Afghanistan were the unlikely semi-finalists as they finished second in Group 1 of the Super 8s, ahead of Australia.

  And their deep run owed much to the form of Rahmanullah Gurbaz with the bat and Fazalhaq Farooqi with the ball.

  Gurbaz finished as the tournament's top scorer, with 281 runs across his eight innings - an average of 35.12. He had a strike rate of 124.33 and a high score of 80, hitting three half-centuries and plundering 16 sixes and 18 fours.

  India captain Rohit was second on the list, 24 runs back (257), with Australia's Travis Head third with 253, though they both boasted a better strike rate than Gurbaz (156.7 and 158.38 respectively).

   Farooqi, meanwhile, took a tournament-leading 17 wickets, a tally he shared with India's Arshdeep Singh.

  However, while Singh went for 215 runs from his 30 overs, Farooqi conceded just 160 runs from his 25.2 overs, for a bowling economy of 6.31.

  Farooqi also finished with the best figures for a single match, taking 5-9 against Uganda on June 3.

  India's hero Bumrah, meanwhile, finished with figures of 15-124, while South Africa paceman Anrich Nortje took 15-201.

  Pooran the entertainer

  West Indies could not get over the line in their home tournament, but that was not for the efforts of Nicholas Pooran, who proved to be the World Cup's great entertainer.

  If Pooran was involved, you could bet there would be fun, as he smashed 17 sixes across his seven innings.

  He also claimed the tournament's highest score, with his 98 from just 53 balls against Afghanistan on June 17, as the Windies set the highest score of the competition (218-5).

  That knock included a remarkable eight maximums, so essentially half of Pooran's total.

  Australia's Head struck the most fours (26), while South Africa skipper Aiden Markram was the one to avoid in the field when hitting big.

  Markram took eight catches in nine matches, leading the tournament ahead of Harry Brook, Tristen Stubbs and Glenn Maxwell (all seven).

  Records tumble in the final

  Kohli smashed 76 runs from 59 balls in the final, helping India reach 176-7 - that is the highest score in a men's T20 World Cup final.

  India's former captain had managed just 75 runs combined across his previous seven innings before the final, but came into form at the right time.

  However, he bowed out of the shortest format having become just the third player to score more than 50 runs in multiple men's T20 World Cup finals, after Marlon Samuels and Kumar Sangakkara.

  Yet South Africa looked all set to claim the trophy as they started the chase brilliantly, with Heinrich Klaasen reaching 50 from just 23 deliveries.

  It is the fastest half-century in a men's T20 World Cup final, with Klaassen overtaking the previous record, set by Mitchell Marsh in 2021, by eight balls.

  But from needing 30 runs from as many deliveries, South Africa collapsed, and India became the third team to win the T20 World Cup on multiple occasions, after West Indies and England.